Casino games generally fall into two classes. The first class includes those games in which individual hands comprise dependent events. Blackjack, baccarat, Acey-Deucey, and any other card game with no shuffle in between hands are examples of dependent event games. The second class includes those games in which individual hands comprise independent events. This includes craps, roulette, and all other games in which every new game is, in principle, totally unrelated to past and future games. From the casino point of view, with all else being equal, independent event games are preferable because there is no mathematical way for a customer to develop a system to beat the game.
All casino games by their nature must have a positive expectation for the house. In addition, casino games should be easy to understand, easy to deal, and fun to play. These are attributes found in all table games. The most popular table game, blackjack, has an additional very important virtue, namely that players play against the dealer. The player and dealer each have unique cards associated with their respective hands and the hands are played separately. Players can see the development of each hand before a final comparison (unless the player busts) to determine the winner. Thus there is a spirit of competition between the player and the house.
In a game comprised of independent events in which player and dealer have separate hands, a break in symmetry must occur in order to assure the house advantage in the long run. In principle, this can be created in two ways: there can be an asymmetry in the way the dealer's and player's hands are constructed, so that the dealer's hand is preferentially stronger; or there can be a symmetry in hand construction but an asymmetry in payoffs so as to prefer the dealer, e.g. by inclusion of "bar" hands or a "dealer wins ties" stipulation in the determination of the payoffs.
Another desirable trait is to have the players interact in the game by physically taking part. The tactile sensation of holding a set of cards or rolling a pair of dice should not be underestimated in accounting for the popularity of games like craps and blackjack. Too, by touching the gaming apparatus, many players subscribe to the popular notion that their destiny can be somehow controlled. A drawback of American-style baccarat and roulette is that the player never touches the apparatus of the game.
Yet another desirable feature is to have a jackpot side bet. This jackpot bet is a popular feature of the Caribbean Stud card game, and jackpot side bets have appeared recently in variations of craps, roulette, and blackjack as well. Because some players are wary of their own chances, knowing "the odds are stacked for the dealer", a jackpot bet utilizing not only the player's hand but also the dealer's hand is especially alluring. Only the "Top of the Deck" blackjack side bet presently offers a jackpot reward if both player and dealer achieve a special hand. A drawback is that the Top of the Deck bet is only offered the first game after a shuffle and is thus unavailable most of the time.
All presently dealt casino dice games lack either the player vs. dealer motif, player involvement, or hand development. In particular, craps, 4-5-6, Pyramid dice, and Survival dice (DiLullo & Jorasch, U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,175) all have rules wherein a player tries to achieve a certain roll or sequence of rolls in order to win the game. There is no dealer hand, per se, and the only dealer interaction is as banker and administrator to the game. Another proposed game, Casino Merry Go Round (Page, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,559), incorporates arbitrary "hands" for the dealer and player, but in fact the "hands" are established in one roll, so no development takes place. Furthermore, the non-standard dice are never touched by any player, so betting aside, there is no player interaction.
There is therefore a need for an independent event game that is exciting, easy-to-play, utilizes standard apparatus, and pits the players against the house via the means of distinct player's hands and dealer's hands, which the players and dealers themselves produce and can see develop. Ideally, such a game includes a jackpot side bet that is available every game and is dependent on both the player's and dealer's hand.